Archives for October 2015

It was my boyfriend’s 30th birthday and I had planned surprises for him all weekend long. One of our favorite things to do together is enjoy the outdoors.

We are avid hikers and started the Appalachian Trail a few years ago as section hikers, but we haven’t been able to take the time off to go back for our usual fall hike.

So for one of my birthday surprises, I planned a day hike to an area we had not yet visited… and of course packed a picnic!

He had no idea where we were going until he saw me filling up the camel backs full of water. Then the wheels started spinning. “We must be going hiking,” he said. Of course I replied, “Maybe… Or we could be biking… or kayaking…”

The mystery must be kept!

So we pull into the parking lot of the trail head to begin a day hike to a picnic he has no idea is coming.

The hike was down a mountain for 3.3 miles and ended near a pool of trickling water with enormous limestone walls surrounding you. The leaves were changing and the air was crisp. Perfect for a surprise picnic.

While admiring the scenery and realizing how small we were next to the limestone walls, I spotted the perfect rock for the secret picnic.

I laid out the blanket then pulled out some snacks and a bottle of wine. While I filled up the plastic wine glasses we began a game of questions that I put together. Now these questions were not about our relationship or encouraging any serious conversation. They were very fun and light-hearted.

If you want to shut off the phones and TV just to enjoy your significant other, I would recommend going through these questions together. It was a lot of fun to hear the responses and see if his answers would be what I expected.

Questions:

If you had one day left to live, what would you do?

Where would you most like to go on vacation next?

What would you do if you won $10,000 and could not save/invest it?

What is your most embarrassing moment?

What is your favorite movie?

What is something you did as a child that your parents never knew about?

What is your favorite color?

What is your favorite season?

What is your favorite restaurant?

What is the craziest dream you’ve ever had?

What do you think is the dumbest thing you’ve ever done?

Is there a silly accomplishment you’ve made that you’re secretly really proud of?

If you could trade lives (or jobs) with someone, who (or what) would it be?

What is your favorite time of day and why?

Who is your favorite superhero?

Is there a show that you used to watch as a kid that you would love to see come back?

What is your favorite outdoor activity?

What is your favorite book?

What is one thing almost no one knows about you?

Would you rather go for a hot air balloon ride or bungee jump?

Would you rather give up music or TV for a month?

What are the top three things on your bucket list?

What is your favorite type of food?

What song can always make you dance?

What is the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten?

What did you want to be when you grew up?

If you could choose any career (besides the one you have) right now, what would it be?

A meteor is headed for your house. You have saved your family, pets, and the family photos. You have time for one more item. What will you save?

Which of these do you have the most of: sense of humor, sense of time, sense of adventure, common sense?

If you had $100 you could spend on anything you wanted, what would you buy? What do you think I would buy?

In a regular day, what do you find yourself thinking about the most?

If you could change only one thing in your life, what would that be and why?

What things in your life bring you the greatest pleasure?

What country would you like to visit next that you have not yet visited?

After finishing our questions game and the last of wine in our wine glasses, we headed back up the mountain. The scenery was beautiful, the air was crisp, and the company was wonderful.

I think hiking is one of the best things you can do to relieve stress and remember what it was like when technology didn’t rule us.

Clean air, picturesque scenery, and no interruptions is something that everyone can benefit from, but very few people experience.

So get out there. Especially while the leaves are changing. You won’t regret it.

I’m super excited to share this recipe one of my favorite vegan mom’s uses for a quick family breakfast!

I have slightly modified her recipe adding a protein powder to really boost the protein content! And of course I used unflavored so it did not change the flavor of her shake. However, vanilla would taste wonderful with this mixture also.

Halloween is always the start of what I call the JUNK-FOOD-EVERYWHERE season. It starts with Halloween, trickles through Thanksgiving, slides into Christmas, and crosses the weight gain finish line on New Years. Every month, a new struggle will arise.

How do we avoid this horrible trend?

We must start the season strong!

With some people, they can purchase Halloween candy they don’t like, and it won’t be touched by anyone but the trick-or-treaters.

For others, all candy is considered too much temptation.

So I’ll share some of the things I am passing out this year for Halloween in hopes of encouraging a little less candy consumption.

Glow Sticks

This one is so much fun for the kids, but also a great idea for safety. I bought little glow sticks that came with connectors so I can make glow bracelets for the kids in my neighborhood. This way if they are trick-or-treating after the sun goes down, they will be spotted by cars more easily… especially while crossing street. And not to mention the fun that comes along with glowing in the dark.

Bubbles

All kids love bubbles! We want to encourage these young ones to stay outside and play. Especially while the weather is crisp and cool. So at my local dollar store I found wedding favor bubble sets that are plain white… six bubble sets for $1. This way I can write things on them or tie them up with ribbon!

According to the National Retail Federation, the average American spent more than $77 on Halloween. We all know how expensive Halloween candy is… One bag alone can cost almost $10. By the time everyone in the house passes the bowl and grabs a piece, and with trick-or-treaters ringing the bell for their share, how much money will have been spent on candy?

Halloween Pencils and Erasers

This one was really exciting to come across because every parent seems to stress about the expense of school supplies. So why not help them out?

I found tons of Halloween pencils, Frankenstein erasers for the tips of the pencils, and larger hand held erasers in the shapes of pumpkins and bats. This may motivate kids to use these things and be more creative or to get that homework finished.

Halloween Toys

There are lots of neat toys you can include in your goody bags or treat bucket. Glow in the dark vampire teeth definitely made my goody list. I also passed tons of plastic bugs, ghost rings, and orange yo-yos in the dollar store. Plenty of fun to keep the little ones entertained.

I hope this helped you mix up your Halloween treat bucket even if it does contain some candy. Sometimes it’s nice to find something other than sugar to give to the little ones ringing our doorbell.

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Quinoa comes from South America around Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador. Humans began cultivating it around 3,000-4,000 years ago. These seeds are high in protein (for a grain) and contain essential amino acids that are beneficial to our health.

Quinoa can be found in many colors, but there are three common colors you’ll see in most grocery stores. An earthy white color, a rich clay red color, and black. I’ve been asked, “what are the differences in red/white/black quinoa?” So here is what I have noticed.

White quinoa is very susceptible to heat. It tends to swell quickly when cooked and can become mushy fast. I would prefer to let it soak in water to soften and use in cold dishes.

Red quinoa is my favorite. It tends to hold its texture and form when cooked. It also adds a nice color to the dish.

Black quinoa can be a bit sweeter when cooked and will still maintain its texture and form.

Personally, I prefer the red quinoa due to the color contrast it adds to my dish and how well it holds form when cooking. Plus in my local grocery stores and health food stores, I can only find red, white, or tricolored mixtures. So I tend to stick with red.

The nutrition content is very similar among all quinoa no matter the color. So lets take a look at what it contains.

QUINOA

SERVING: 1/2 CUP

CALORIES: 111

PROTEIN: 4 g

CARBOHYDRATES: 19.7 g

FIBER: 2.6 g

FAT (mostly poly/mono): 1.8 g

*Contains: Potassium, Calcium, Iron, Zinc

If you would like to add more quinoa to your diet, try out my new quinoa soup recipe HERE!

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Since it is getting cooler outside, people are starting to cozy up and make soups in their crock-pots. Most soups can be high calorie and make you feel like hibernating after eating them… so here is how we avoid that feeling by boosting the nutrients in our soups!

Most people assume you need noodles, rice, or potatoes to have a soup… but you can actually use quinoa instead! Find out why quinoa is one of my favorite grains HERE!

So here is my recipe for one of our favorite fall soups made in a crock-pot.

INGREDIENTS:

4 organic chicken breasts, whole

2 containers of organic chicken broth

3 stalks of organic celery, chopped

1 organic leek, chopped

5 organic carrots, sliced

1 cup organic red quinoa

1 organic lemon, sliced

1/2 tbsp. organic dill weed

salt/pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Place all chicken and broth into your crock-pot. Add celery, leek, carrots, lemon, and dill to your crock-pot and let cook on high for 5-6 hours or until chicken is done.

After adding all of your ingredients to your crock-pot, place your quinoa in a bowl of water off to the side to soak as shown below. I will also add extra water to the crock-pot depending on how much broth I have. Here I used both containers of broth and about 1 cup of water.

After your chicken has finished cooking, take out all chicken and shred chicken with a fork. The chicken should just fall apart as you scrape it. Once shredded, put it back into your crock-pot.

Strain water from your quinoa and add quinoa to your crock-pot 30 minutes before you plan to eat.

**Note: I always use red quinoa because it does not get mushy.

Please feel free to salt/pepper to taste. And 30 minutes later, voila! You have a healthy and flavorful soup!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this blog post and please feel free to share using the social media icons below!

With the holidays approaching, I feel that this blog post is extremely important to start practicing with now!

One culprit that causes weight gain is temptation. Sometimes foods are so enticing, we don’t have enough will power to say no!

So what can we do to help build that will power and keep us from those situations arising in the first place?

Here are 5 tips you can follow to avoid food temptation!

1. Make your home your sanctuary.

If you have junk foods or trigger foods at home, it will be nearly impossible to stay on track with those treats dancing around in the back of your brain. Make today the day you grab an empty box, open that pantry, and carry a load to your local food bank! This way, if you have a strong craving for something unhealthy, your only choice is to throw on shoes, jump in the car, and go purchase it. And no one wants to do that in the middle of the night. This will also help with mindless snacking on junk.

And before you say, “But the kids really like ____, I can’t just get rid of that…” think about their health. Is that a regular food you want them to grow up eating? Or should that food really be a treat for them?

2. Remove yourself from the situation or find a distraction.

When choosing a healthier lifestyle, you must allow yourself time to go through sugar/salt/fat withdrawal. Yes, we can be addicted to these substances and sometimes it is just as bad as drugs/alcohol. When looking at brain scans, our brain can light up like a Christmas tree when eating these foods in a stressful state and shortly after, we feel calm and relaxed. This was something we discussed during a food addiction seminar I attended. What is happening is actually a serotonin (our feel good hormone) release. And if habits like that have been practiced too long, we can now be addicted and must allow time for withdrawal.

So if its evening time, the tv is on, and you reach for something to munch on while you relax, ask yourself, “before I take this bite, am I truly physically hungry? Or am I looking for something to do?” If you are not physically hungry, this is a great time to remove yourself from the situation you are currently in, or find a good distraction.

By distracting the mind from temptation, you are currently in the process of breaking a habit. It takes almost a month to break a habit, so stay strong. Find something that can relax you at the same time whether its a craft, hobby, or going for a walk.

3. Eat slowly.

This is an extremely helpful tip. The slower you eat, the faster you fill up. Once you are no longer hungry, you will be less inclined to have dessert or a late night snack.

Asking for a to-go box immediately when ordering your food is also a step in the right direction. When you remove half of your meal from your plate, you are eliminating that temptation of eating the full serving. Always give yourself 10-15 minutes after completing a meal to determine if you are satisfied or not.

The last suggestion when it comes to social gatherings, restaurant celebrations, or holidays, is that you can always eat before you go if you don’t think you will have full control. Now this doesn’t mean I believe you should never have “cheat meals” or something unhealthy occasionally… But if this is a gathering you are attending recently after a cheat meal or it happens to be a place serving trigger foods for you, it is a great idea to eat ahead of time and just enjoy the social aspect of the event.

4. Don’t buy it!

If you do not purchase this food, you cannot eat it! Practicing the word NO is really important.

5. Avoid tempting aisles at the grocery store.

You always want to shop the outskirts of the grocery store. This will keep you around fresh produce, protein, and dairy products. Anything within the aisles will always revolve around processed foods. If you have a specific trigger food, AVOID THAT AISLE!

One grocery store in particular has really helped some of my patients by doing an online ordering system! You can order all of your groceries online, pay online, and schedule a pick-up time! How awesome is that? This way you don’t have to look at the junk on sale at each end cap or smell the aromas from the bakery.

SUMMARY

These are just some of the things I practice with my patients to make sure temptation is not going to be an issue while living healthy. I do believe in moderation, but for some people, if they fall off track or even have a cheat meal, they may throw in the towel because they already feel that they have failed. So these are some easy tips to work on to make sure you avoid temptation and stay successful with your healthy lifestyle.

Welcome!

I’m Tamar, a registered dietitian living in Alabama, fascinated by food, fitness, and travel. My goal for this blog is to help people learn more about how to live a long, healthy, and peaceful life to the fullest. Read More…